A typical prior electrical breadboard apparatus has an electrically non-conductive housing of, for example, injection molded plastic or plastic-like material, formed with a plurality of compartments with each typically having an opening in a top housing surface for access to the compartment usually by insertion of an electrical lead or the like therethrough. An electrical contact is positioned in each compartment to connect electrically with an electrical lead inserted therein. Moreover, in those electrical breadboards used as element connecting and signal coupling devices, hereinafter referred to as terminal strips, the compartments and contacts are arranged at equidistant spacing in a two-dimensional array, say having approximately five contacts and compartments across the strip and say approximately thirty or more contacts and compartments along the length of the strip. Each row of five contacts across a terminal strip may be considered a set of contacts and provision is made usually within the housing electrically to connect the contacts of each respective set in parallel. Thus, by a single set of five contacts five individual electrical leads, which are inserted to engagement with respective contacts of the set, such leads become electrically connected in common. One reason for having the contact sets arranged five across, even though all five contacts of a given set often may not be used, is to provide size versatility for the electrical breadboard for use with electrical components of a wide variety of sizes.
Usually the prior electrical breadboard housing is fixedly, i.e. usually non-adjustably, connected or attached to a support board for use.
Another type of breadboard member is a distribution strip, the purpose of which typically is to provide power distribution to a variety of locations in an electrical circuit.